Churches And Mosques

[retrocop]

Out of curiosity could I ask,preferably the more elderly ABers,tho all are welcome to contribute a response as to how many newly built churches have been built in your area and in your lifetime and how many mosques have been built with in the same lifetime and area you reside?
You could include buildings that have been converted from one use to a religious purpose.

[shoota]

'There are also financial advantages: registered places of worship do not have to subject their funds to inspection, under the terms of the Charitable Trusts Act 1853, and Council Tax is not levied on their premises.'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Places_of_Worship_Registration_Act_1855

[mccfluff]

i know there is a church at the bottom of my road but its very old, don't think there are any mosques where i live, could be wrong, just never seen one

my neighbours were praying quite loudly last night, maybe they have converted their house......

[hc4361]

shoota, read the reply to a Freedom of Information request:
"There is no specific exemption under council tax regulations for anyone
claiming that their home is being used as a Mosque. Places of religious
worship are exempt from Business Rates, but if they do not belong to the
Church of England or the Church in Wales the property must be certified
under the Places of Worship Registration Act 1855."

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/council_tax_exemption_properties

And:
Freedom of Information Manager,
Council House,
Floor 2,
Doncaster Council, Council Tax, Colonnades House, Duke Street, DN1 1ER


Date: 29th October 2010

Dear

Thank you for your Freedom of Information request dated 9th October 2010, regarding
Council Tax and exemptions for prayer rooms. Please find below Doncaster Council’s
response to your question.

“Would it be possible to know how many, if any, private residential homes in the Doncaster area are exempt from paying Council Tax as one or more rooms are being used as a prayer room?”

There is no such exemption in Council Tax legislation that allows a reduction on these grounds and therefore the answer to your question is none.

The only reduction that can be given on similar grounds is a discount for members of religious communities and not specifically for prayer rooms alone.

A discount for members of religious communities can be granted where a person has no income or capital of their own, is dependent on the community for material needs and where their work is prayer, contemplation, the relief of suffering or a combination of these.

It follows that if a property is occupied by 2 adults and one of them qualifies as a member of a religious community a discount of 25% would be given. If both adults qualified as members of a religious community a 50% discount would be given. If there are several adults in a property, some are members of religious communities, but there are still 2 or more adults that are not, no discount would be given.

I can confirm that there are currently six properties in Doncaster that qualify for a 50%
reduction on these grounds.

I hope that this information is useful to you.

http://www.pne-online.net/forum/showthread.php?64654-Proposed-Mosque-on-Watling-Street-road/page6

And:
http://www.thepressnews.co.uk/press-news/7309/

[hc4361]

It was Nick Griffin who started that rumour.

[-Talbot-]

The last time I went to church I was under severe pressure to do so ;0/

[Prudie]

No churches, no mosques. There is a recently built Kingdom Hall. I think that's Jehovah's Witness. It's all made from black wood and looks like the one in Witness.

[Prudie]

Shotgun wedding eh Talbot?

[sandyRoe]

A nearby Methodist church is to be converted into a Witherspoons Bar. The Empire Bar was another church which has found a new lease of life with a drinking congregation.
A local RC chapel has fallen into dereliction.
I can't think of any new churches in the area.
There's a mosque in a converted house near the Lisburn Rd in Belfast.

[dunnitall]

No churches but at least two 'other religious buildings' from religions not born of this country.

[trt]

I did a Google street thingy last year to see the house/street I was brought up in, in Old Trafford and the surrounding area.

The big pub my dad used to be a regular, is now a Muslim school for girls and another is a Mosque.

The church and church hall I used to go to when I was in the boys brigade has gone, and most of the shops are for non-English, but what shocked me more was the state of the area, it looked like a third world.

I am just glad that we moved when I was about 12 yr old.

[paddywak]

The nearest mosque I know off is in Nottingham about 25 miles away,a couple of years ago an old factory shop was converted to a evangelist type place which always seems to be well patronised

[boxtops]

Our local paper did a poll and there are only 250 people in this town who replied that they attend church regularly. Churches are turning into private dwellings or social centres for hire. Mosques in this area are usually converted private houses rather than being new builds, as are Jewish centres, the Quakers, and so on.

[marval]

I live in Milton Keynes, as it is not too old, most of the churches have been built in my lifetime. We do have a few mosques, some are just held in houses.